Tennis-racket



(No Model.)

V. KENT.

' TENNIS RAOKET.

N0.'8'71,846. Patented 001:; 18:, 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VIRGIL KENT, or SEEKONK, MASSAoHUSETTS.

TENNIS- RACKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,846 dated October 18 .1887.

Application filed February 3, 1885. Serial No. 154,831. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VIRGIL KENT, of Seekonk, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tennis-Rackets; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawing furnished and forming a part of the same, is a clear, true, and complete description of my invention.

My improvement relates to strengthening the racket at the end of its handle by means of a rigid tip, which is secured to the two ends of the bent wood by means of dowels or their equivalents, thus providing for a more reliable and durable union of said two ends than when the tip is inclosed with leather, as heretofore; and by extending said tip outward at its sides it prevents the racket from slipping from the hand while in use.

To more particularly describe my invention I will referto the drawing, which is a side View of a racket embodying my invention, with the end of'the handle and its tip shown in section.

The bow A is, as usual, composed of suitable wood capable of being bent into the required form. The lacing a is also of the usual material, and is applied, as heretofore, by interweaving from hole to hole in the bow.

As shown in the drawing at b, the bow is, as heretofore, provided with a concave face around the interior line adjacent to the lacing on both sides of the racket; but this forms no part of my invention.

To render the racket as durable as possible I have coupled the two ends of the bent wood at the tip of the handle by means of the wooden tip 0 and dowel-pins d d, which respectively tightly occupy holes insaid ends. This tip 0 is somewhat larger than the sectional area of the wood contained in thetwo ends ofthe bow-piece at the two sides of the handle, and additional strips or plates 0, of wood or other material, are secured to said two sides, so as to overlie the joint between the coincident surfaces of the bow-pieces at the handle throughout a good portion of its length, as clearly illus trated; and it will also be seen that the sides or edges of said tip flare or project at all points sufficiently to prevent the racket from slipping from the hand of a player, as is liable to occur.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent The combination, with the racket-handle embodying the two ends of the bow-piece, of the flaring wooden tip and the dowels by which said ends are firmly locked together, substantially as described.

VIRGIL KENT.

Witnesses:

Isaac SHoVE, HARVARD A. FLETCHER. 

